Cooler Comparison Testing
Cooler Testing Methods
To best gage the quality of the system coolers under review, system CPU temperature and cooling system audio measurements were taken with the CPU idle and under load. To replicate CPU idle conditions, the system was rebooted and allowed to sit idle for 10 minutes. To replicate a stress system load on the Z77-based system, a combination of LinX and FurMark were run over a 30 minute period with LinX running for 500 loops with Memory set to All and FurMark running at 1280×1024 resolution and 2x MSAA in stress test mode. For the Z87-based system testing, Aida64 System Stability Test was used in conjunction with FurMark for 30 minutes per run. After each run, the system was shut down and allowed to rest for 10 minutes to cool down. Then the CPU cooler was removed, cleaned, and remounted to the CPU with fresh thermal paste applied. This procedure was repeated a total of nine times for each cooler – three times for the stock speed runs on the Z77 and Z87-based systems, and 3 times for the overclocked speed runs on the Z77-based system.
Temperature measurements were taken directly from the CPU thermistors using RealTemp (the newer Tech|Inferno edition). For the Z77-based systems, the highest recorded value for idle and load temperature were used for the run. Because of the volatile nature of the Haswell thermistor readings, the Z87-based system temperatures were measured in a different manner. For idle temperatures, the highest recorded value was used for the run. For load temperatures, a series of three values were notated: the average (high and low) across all cores, the average (high and low) across the single highest core, and the high temperature.
To adequately measure the Koolance EXT-440CU with CPU-380I block kit performance, performance testing was done for all scenarios under three operation conditions – high speed, medium speed, and low speed. High speed settings consisted of the EXT-440CU unit fan and pump speeds set to 10, medium speed tests were done with fan and pump speed set to 5, and low speed tests completed with fan and pump speed set to 1. Both the fan and pump speeds were manually set between test runs using the control interface integrated into the EXT-440CU's front panel.
Note that the temperature values are reported as deltas rather than absolute temperatures with the delta value reported calculated as CPU temperature – ambient temperature. For all tests, room ambient temperature was maintained between 23-27C. Sound measurements of the system cooler where taken with the sound meter placed 3 feet away from the system with all other devices in the room silenced. The Sound Meter Pro applet on a Samsung Galaxy S3 mobile phone was used to measure decibel level.
Intel Z77-based Ivy Bridge System Testing
CPU Stock Speed Testing
The CPU stock speed testing was conducted with the BIOS defaults set (including enabling of the CPU-integrated graphics processor) with Turbo Mode disabled, equating to a 3.4GHz CPU speed, 1600MHz memory speed, and 100MHz base clock. The Intel Speedstep functionality remained enabled for the duration of the testing to get realistic CPU idle performance conditions.
With an Ivy Bridge CPU running at stock settings, the Koolance EXT-440CU with the CPU-380I block performed well within expectations, matching or beating the Corsair all-in-one unit but not quite beating out the XSPC unit. The more interesting fact here is the close grouping of the Koolance kit's performance numbers, indicating that the kit is not at all stressed with the heat load no matter how far you reduce the fan speed or pump speed levels.
CPU Overclocked Speed Testing
The CPU overclocked speed testing was conducted with known stable settings from a previous board review with Turbo Mode disabled, equating to a 4.4GHz CPU speed, 1960MHz memory speed, and 105MHz base clock. Also, the CPU-integrated graphics processor was disabled to reduce the processor heat generation. The Intel Speedstep functionality remained enabled for the duration of the testing to get realistic CPU idle performance conditions.
Board voltage settings were configured as follows:
- CPU Core Voltage – 1.2750
- CPU I/O Voltage – 1.150
- DRAM Voltage – 1.6255
- System Agent Voltage(SA) – 1.0850
- CPU PLL Voltage – 1.7500
- PCH 1.05 – 1.0995
The Ivy Bridge CPU at overclocked settings gives the Koolance kit a better run for the money with the performance gulf between it and the all-in-one Corsair cooler widening. At full speed, the Koolance kit is a mere 2C behind the XSPC kit. Also note that the spread between the high-speed and low-speed performance for the Koolance kit is larger than at stock settings, but remains only a difference of 4C.
Intel Z87-based Haswell System Testing
CPU Stock Speed Testing
The CPU stock speed testing was conducted with the BIOS defaults set for the CPU (including enabling of the CPU-integrated graphics processor) and Turbo Mode disabled, equating to a 3.4GHz CPU speed, 1600MHz memory speed, and 100MHz base clock. The Intel Speedstep functionality remained enabled for the duration of the testing to get realistic CPU idle performance conditions.
Here we really begin to see the performance potential of the Koolance kit with its performance at both full and mid-speed settings within 1-3C of the top performers. An oddity that surfaced in testing with the Haswell-based CPU was that the Koolance kit was unable to keep the system stable at minimum speeds setting (with the fan speed and pump speed set to 1). After about 10 minutes into the run, the Koolance unit would automatically increase the pump and fan speeds to compensate for increasingly elevated CPU temperatures. The behavior was not seen with the unit operating at the medium or high-speed settings.
CPU Overclocked Speed Testing
The CPU overclocked speed testing was conducted with known stable settings from a previous board review with Turbo Mode disabled, equating to a 4.68GHz CPU speed, 1780MHz memory speed, 4.0GHZ ring bus speed, and 167MHz base clock. Also, the CPU-integrated graphics processor was disabled to reduce the processor heat generation. The Intel Speedstep functionality remained enabled for the duration of the testing to get realistic CPU idle performance conditions.
Board voltage settings were configured as follows:
- CPU Core Voltage – 1.25 + 0.005
- VCCIN Voltage – 1.90
- DRAM Voltage – 1.55
- CPU Ring Voltage – 1.125 + 0.005
- CPU SA Voltage Offset – +0.100
- CPU IO Analogue Voltage Offset – +0.100
- CPU IO Digital Voltage Offset – +0.100
- PCH 1.05 Voltage – 1.120
The Haswell CPU-based tests with overclocked settings really pushed the Koolance kit to it performance limits, illustrating how well Koolance designed the EXT-440CU unit to scale with increased heat load. While the kit did not lead the performance numbers, it remained within 2-3C of the top performing units across all temperature groupings. The most interesting performance metric is the minimal temperature differences between the unit in high-speed mode versus medium-speed mode. You only see a 3-5C drop in performance by halving the fan and pump speeds. As stated previously, the Koolance unit was unable to complete the test with the Haswell processor in low speed mode.
Sound Testing
The sound performance of the EXT-440CU unit was surprising with its full-speed operating mode audible over other case fan noise, but still below that of a graphics card fan running full tilt. The sound scales as expected with operating speed reducing during medium and low-speed testing. At medium speeds, the unit is barely audible, while at low-speeds, the unit is whisper quiet.
A SILVER AWARD?????
For $235
A SILVER AWARD?????
For $235 (with out tax) i got a set that easily outperforms this set.
http://www.aquatuning.nl/shopping_cart.php/bkey/076bb0080a07151155ba90f1348acb18
Can be build in a case, and just looks better, because in the end, one of the most important parts the radiator is just way to small.
And spend the same amount as this set cost, then you have something real nice.
… your link in in €* …
… your link in in €* … that’s a euro.. not a dollar, euros are worth more.
I believe the US shows prices
I believe the US shows prices without tax, so I did the math.
€215 – 19% tax = €175 = $235
Was the block mounted
Was the block mounted perpendicular to the memory slots? This is the optimal config for the 380i, matters by 1.5 degrees. I have the 380i block in my loop.
The radiator isn’t too small,
The radiator isn’t too small, Koolance has been making good watercooling gear for along time. As for mounting the block perpendicular to the RAM, that is dependent on the motherboard chipset and if the motherboard is even a reference design. Chances are, the only reason someone has seen a difference is that at a certain angle the hoses were putting pressure on the mounting and screwing with the thermal joint between the waterblock and the processor.
I think it should be
I think it should be emphasized that the water kits being compared (XSPC EX240 and Corsair H100i) are both dual-fan radiators. EXT-440CU is just a single-fan radiator unit. Koolance’s dual-fan rad external unit is EX2-755.
Yes, I think anybody that
Yes, I think anybody that would go this route (external unit) would go for 240mm model .
Little OT but may I ask why the 4400 OC is done with a 42x by 105 blk , instead of straight 44x by 100blk . Is it is easier voltage wise for 42x@105mhz ?
Those specs were used for the
Those specs were used for the Z77 board because they were there stable o/c specs from when the board was originally reviewed. Using a 105MHz base clock atually puts the system under a little more stress than with a 100MHz base clock, requiring more voltage to stabilize..
Also Should of reviewed the
Also Should of reviewed the Ex2-755 V2 as its almost same price ( $285) . Which is 240mm and probably look good on top of case if it has flat top .